– Juliette Binoche’s directorial debut reflects on the beauty of the creative process behind her dance work with Akram Khan
Juliette Binoche and Akram Khan in In-I In Motion
Many would be surprised to learn that Juliette Binoche, one of the most accomplished and versatile actresses of our time, is something of a Renaissance woman in the arts. An Oscar-winner, a painter, a poet and a musician, Binoche has approached different art mediums with genuine curiosity, and every single project has been transformative for her, rather than just a foray into this or that. Now, nearly two decades after she and British choreographer Akram Khan conceived of the dance work In-I, which was performed over a hundred times across the world in 2008 and 2009, she’s acquired her first directorial credit thanks to the documentary In-I In Motion [+see also:
interview: Juliette Binoche
film profile]. The film premiered in San Sebastián last year, but it’s now being honoured with a special screening within CPH:DOX’s Highlights section.
In-I In Motion consists of archival footage in which ‘behind the scenes’ equates to a raw, creative process where conversations, experimentation, and dance improvisations birth a brand-new piece; the second part of this two-hour documentary is a full recording of In-I, which comes as cathartic pay-off for the viewer. As we see in the film, Binoche hadn’t trained in dance, even if those in the know would remember a quasi-choreography of moves in Lovers on the Bridge by Leos Carax. Akram Khan, a virtuoso in his field, has zero acting experience, and this meeting and exchange becomes the beating heart of In-I In Motion. Binoche addresses the audience only once, at the very beginning of the film, to explain its genesis, and then hands things over to us and her past self.
All the footage is shot by Marion Stalens (a cinematographer and sister of Binoche) and is, in all senses of the word, a document. Unflinching but also deeply respectful, the scenes telling the ‘story’ of the project include introspection, excitement, and frustration as immediate reactions to a growing creation. It’s impressive how, even with the hindsight of so many years, the film shows Binoche and Khan as co-creators of something which flourishes organically. Fragments of scenes line up like pearls on a necklace, each one perfectly self-contained yet dependent on the others. Sophie Brunet and Sophie Mandonnet’s editing work has proved crucial, since Binoche’s cinematic interventions can clearly be seen in the film’s edit and sound design (and in Philip Sheppard’s compositions). In-I In Motion is not a ‘director’s film’ in this sense, but it’s been carefully composed in order to showcase an honest vulnerability and to invite the audience to experience a journey ex nihilo alongside the two artists.
In-I as a dance theatre piece consists of a series of vignettes about love and relationships, their evolution and devolution. No wonder it all starts with a story about falling in love at the cinema, with Binoche sitting on a lonely chair on stage while lights flicker on the sole item of set design – a freestanding wall designed by Anish Kapoor which will later become the main interlocutor for both performers. But the wall isn’t what separates them as their characters come together and break up over the course of 70 minutes; it’s a paradoxical meeting point. In-I In Motion is similar in this respect: it’s a space for projections and encounters, in the form of an astonishingly sincere work of art.
In-I In Motion was produced in France by Miao Productions and Léger Production. mk2 are handling international sales.
